Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 21:1 (Spring 2024)
Article: The Uniqueness Of Christianity In A World Of Religions
Author: Craig J. Hazen

The Uniqueness Of Christianity In A World Of Religions

Craig J. Hazen

Craig J. Hazen is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Religion and Christian Apologetics, and the Founder and Director of the Christian Apologetics Graduate Program at the Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. He is also Editor Emeritus of the philosophy journal, Philosophia Christi.

Dr. Robert B. Stewart’s life-long research and teaching in Christian philosophy and theology often landed in the domain of comparative religious studies. Even if one is convinced of Jesus’ resurrection, or of his divinity, by the kinds of evidence and arguments unearthed and published by Stewart, one is then compelled to ask at least one more important apologetic question: did anything comparable take place in any of the other historic world religions? As a keen apologist Stewart himself explored this comparative path on several fronts. He has a rather deep interest in the beliefs and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ, Latter Day Saints, for instance. And my experience with him demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has much more than a passing interest in a range of beliefs that stood to challenge traditional Christianity. To honor Bob’s interest in such subjects, I want to explore some of the unique features that set Christianity apart from the other great world religious traditions. In my view, Stewart is right to focus on the claims of the historical Jesus and the demonstration of the truth of those by means of the resurrection. But I don’t think followers of Christ would be surprised at all to find that Jesus left for us other important points of uniqueness and authenticity that follow closely in the wake of his conquest of death.

* * *

One afternoon I received a call in my office at Biola University in southern California from a teaching assistant at a local community college. He was contacting me on behalf of a professor in a religious studies course who was looking for representatives from

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various spiritual traditions to come and speak in his classroom. The professor wanted the students to hear first-hand from a wide range of religious thinkers and devotees—an admirable idea in my view. I was free on the morning they were asking about, so I was delighted to go and address the group.

A couple of days later I found myself in the classroom and after a few announcements, the professor began to introduce me as the morning’s speaker: “This is Craig Hazen and he will be interacting with us this morning from the standpoint of his religious tradition, fundamentalist Christianity.”

The label caught me off guard. I thought I was coming in to talk about a much broader category such as Christianity in general...